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East Cleveland officials confirm identity of second victim in triple homicide (video)

East Cleveland officials identify second of three murder victims East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton and Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson announce the identity of the second of three women found dead over the past weekend. Officials identified her as Shetisha Sheeley. Suspect Michael Madison has been arrested and is being held on $ 6 million bond. (PD Video / Marvin Fong)

EAST CLEVELAND, Ohio — Investigators have released the name of the second of three women found dead in this Cleveland suburb last weekend, and the city's mayor revealed he is friends with the family of one of the victims.

Officials identified Shetisha Sheeley, 28, of Cleveland, during a news conference at the East Cleveland Police Department. The third victim has not been identified.

Sheeley's mother told The Plain Dealer this morning that her daughter was a loner. Kim Sheeley also expressed surprise that her daughter's body was found in East Cleveland.

"I don't know what she was doing in East Cleveland because she did not live in East Cleveland," she said during a brief interview at her Cleveland home.

Tanya Robinson Williams, a minister with Mt. Pleasant Baptist Church who was visiting with Sheeley's mother today, said the daughter was "lighthearted but a loner. She kept to herself."

"She would call her mom, say something funny from a movie and hang up."

Of her daughter, Sheeley said, "The last time I physically laid eyes on her was in May." Sheeley said her daughter was riding in a car driven by a man, but not the suspect.

"I called out to her, but she didn't say nothing." Sheeley said the driver then sped off.

Referring to her daughter, she said: "She liked to listen to music, play cards and watch movies. She was just a normal girl." Shetisha also was the mother of a 12-year-old daughter.

Kim Sheeley then broke down in tears, saying, "I just can't take it right now."

Shetisha's death is the second tragedy to befall Kim Sheeley in less than a year. Sheeley's son, Don'tel Sheeley, was shot to death in front of her in their home on Dec. 22. Williams said Kim Sheeley will have buried her two oldest children.

No funeral services have been arranged for Shetisha Sheeley.

In a separate interview, Betty Ferrell said Shetisha Sheeley had lived for a time in her East 99th Street house in Cleveland.

Angela Deskins' name was released Monday. The 38-year-old Cleveland woman had been missing since June 7, according to a missing person report on file with Cleveland police.

Deskins' mother told the newspaper this morning that her daughter's passing is tough to bear.

"It's hard for me to believe that she is gone," Marie Padgette said from a closed door of her home in Mayfield Heights.

East Cleveland Mayor Gary Norton said today he has known the Deskins family for about 15 years and that they are prominent in the community. He said the family has always been supportive of Angela Deskins.

"My heart goes out to them," he said.

Both Deskins and Sheeley were identified through fingerprints, said Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson. The description of Sheeley's tattoos released to media led to an initial identification that was then confirmed with fingerprints, he said.

Gilson said causes of death might be revealed in the next few days.

The bodies of Deskins, Sheeley and the third woman were found wrapped in multiple plastic bags in a garage, a neighboring basement and a nearby field. Deskins was in the basement of an abandoned home, while Sheeley was in the field.

Sheeley was once reported missing in 2001, according to a report filed with the Cleveland Police Department. Her mother said she filed another missing persons report on her in September. In June 2012, Shetisha Sheeley was charged in Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court with felonious assault, discharge of a firearm and improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, but the charges were dismissed in September.

The suspect in the murders, Michael Madison, a 35-year-old registered sex offender, did not enter a plea during a brief appearance Monday in East Cleveland Municipal Court.

Madison is charged with three counts of aggravated murder and three counts of kidnapping. He is being held on a $6 million bond, $1 million for each charge.

Police discovered the first body Friday in a garage after a resident complained about a foul odor. That victim has not been identified.

Based on a tip, police arrested Madison hours later at his mother's Cleveland home. After interviewing the suspect, police resumed searching the area Saturday and found the two other bodies. Investigators and residents searched a broader area Sunday and nothing was found.

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